The Brightest Light
by Pwnerbrad
Summary: Naruto left and came back stronger. He left and he didn't like what he saw when he got back. He will help Kuroko bring the Generation of Miracles back to what they were when he first saw them, believe it! He didn't want to play, but, if he had to, he would and no one could stop him. Fem!Kuroko, Characters will be OOC
1. Shadow I

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

_'Flashbacks'_

Hello everyone! I finally got time to sit down and actually write a story. Thank you all for taking the time to read this. So without further ado. I present you, The Brightest Light!

Oh, and I don't own Naruto or Kuroko no Basuke.

* * *

"You guys! Take off your shirts!"

A stiff silenced followed, until:

"Maa, getting friendly with us already Aida-chan?" Naruto said, a huge grin on his face, getting a noticeable twitch from her.

"Well, I guess I can obliged." Taking the initiative he took off his shirt, prompting the rest of the first-years to follow.

He watched as Aida started down the line making her observations as she goes. He chuckled slightly, she was pretty good.

"What? How did she know that?" One of the members asked

"Her dad's a sports trainer. She lives for this stuff," replied Hyuga.

When she finally stopped in front of Kagami, he saw her freeze, for like a few minutes. It actually got kind of creepy.

Kagami was built well, but the Generation of Miracles were much better. One thing Kagami had going for him was his height. He only reached just past his shoulder.'Bigger isn't always better.'

Seeing that she wasn't going to snap out of it he said, "See something you like Aida-chan?"

Snapping out of her daze, her eyes continued to the last member.

"Uzumaki-san," she gave him a deadly glare, "I don't think I like you acting so friendly."

He smile in response. His smile didn't fade when she walked up to him, trying to observe him, only to see her eyes widen.

'Uzumaki Naruto, hmm,' she looked down at his application. Under his reason to play, all it said was, 'Maa, don't worry about it.'

A tick mark appeared on her face. 'I can't read him and I have no information on him. This is unusual. Who are you?'

The grin never left his face as he thought, 'You won't be seeing anything from me, I'm not here to play.'

"What's wrong coach?" Naruto asked. He reached his hand out and put it atop of Kuroko's head, he felt her pout and sighed a bit.

She was being smart, 'I'm surprised she's holding herself so well, I see her skills at being manipulative haven't gotten worse.'

"Nothing," she muttered, thoroughly confused. How do you even hide stats? It was like he never even took his shirt off. He did have stats, don't get her wrong, there was numbers associated with each part of his body, but the first two numbers were hidden. For all she could know, he could be anywhere from 5,000 to even possibly, 10,000.

From what she could observe he looked well built, his arms were lean, the muscles obvious from his arms, he legs were sharp and she could see how much time he put into his speed. He would be scary fast with legs like those and his midsection looked normal for a basketball player. He was much shorter than Kagami standing around 5'6''. If she had to guess, he would be about the same strength as him. He had bright yellow hair and from his height, she assumed he played point guard.

While she was trying to gauge his strength, he couldn't help but laugh as he knew nobody notice Kuroko.

"Hey, don't forget her," he patted her head, hands going through her hair, it was as soft as he remember.

"Her?" Everyone followed his arm, their eyes finally settling on a girl.

She was pretty short, shorter than even Naruto who seemed like he was the shortest here. She had beautiful teal hair that reached down her back and her face looked fragile, like she could easily be shattered. Her arms and legs were pristine and there was no obvious muscle on them. Her stomach was flat and while it was hard to tell by just looking at it, Aida could see the work that was put in there. One thing bother Aida, not that she seemingly appeared out of nowhere, nor the fact that Uzumaki saw her there. No, what bother her, was the fact that she was beautiful.

"Wah!"

"Uzumaki-san, please stop that," slightly glaring at Naruto.

'Uzumaki-san, huh.' He sighed

Not taking his hand off her head, he laughed saying, "Who would of thought the Phantom Princess was so cute?"

He thought, 'I might as well play along, I'm sure she has her reasons.'

While the two of them bantered back and forth, Aida and the rest of the team couldn't help but think one thing: when did she get there?

She was about to check out her stats, when she noticed one thing, "Where is your shirt?"

"You said to take it off," Kuroko deadpanned.

"But, what? The, guys, y-you know!"

The mentioned guys all of a sudden found the ground very interesting.

Kuroko had given up on stopping Naruto from rubbing her head, and gave Aida a blank stare and no response.

Regaining her senses, she looked over Kuroko's stats. A frown creased her face, 'This doesn't make any sense. These aren't the stats of a Generation of Miracles' member.'

She would have to talk to her dad later. 'Wait! If what she said was true, Teiko had a female on their team. Why did nobody know this?' She vaguely heard stories about the phantom sixth player, she expected something more.

Before finishing up, she noticed one more thing, 'She's bigger than me by at least two cups.' A deathly aura appeared around her, silencing the gym.

"Ahhaha, couch, you're scaring everyone."

"What was they Hyuga-kun?"

"Nothing!"

* * *

Slap!

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here after all these years?"

He rubbed his face, he deserved that.

"Ow. I see that you're acting friendly now, Kuroko-chan," looking down at her, "You're even more like Akashi-kun than you'd like to imagine."

He immediately regretted his words. The slight narrowing of her brows, the way her fist clenched.

A hand came out of nowhere.

Another slap rang out in the silence.

She harshly spoke, "I am nothing like him. This is the first thing you say to me?"

She felt a hand on her head, slightly seething, tears stinging her eyes, the pain of what happened at Teiko was still too much for here to bear, "Naruto-kun take your head off my head," she choked out.

"Fine," he trailed his hand down to the side of her face, "look at me."

Her eyes slowly made her way to his, "Tears don't suit you," he softly spoke, carefully wiping them away from her eyes.

"It wasn't an insult. You're always thinking of the future, planning and scheming. Akashi-kun was always good at that, or he at least seemed that way and now I can see it's true. I know you hate what they've become, but I'll help you bring them back to playing like a team. I might have left for a while, but I still remember naming them."

"N-Naruto-kun," a tinge of pink hitting her cheeks, as she buried her head into his shoulder. He was always there for her.

She couldn't stop the tears from leaking out of her eyes, "thank you. What are you doing here?"

Chuckling lightly, he wrapped his arm around her. Standing there as she cried into him, he smiled. "It's been a long while," he paused and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry." His bangs fell over his eyes. Leaving her was his biggest regret.

"You never answered my question," she muffled into his shoulder.

"Let's just say, the Generation of Miracles needs a wake up call. I left when they were still growing. I don't know what happened to them but their final games, if you can even call them games." He scoffed.

"They were more like five agaisnt one and they were the one, not like it stopped them. Winning became way too much for Akashi-kun. But I think Kagami-kun can help us, he has the potential."

She pulled herself away, looking slightly bashful, "I was on the way to talk to him."

"Like Akashi-kun indeed."

She gave him a light glare and hit his shoulder while she asked, "Are you going to play again?"

"If it comes down to it, maybe, but, no, I'm here to improve your style."

She was just feeling better too.

"What?" Eye twitching, she wiped the remaining tears away and quickly remarked, "My styles pretty good."

Shaking his head, smiling, 'She still has her pride.'

"Yes, but what happens when the team can't use your skills effectively? It didn't happen when you played for Teiko, but, unfortunately, Seirin might not always be able to. Don't worry, the team won't have to know.

I'm sure you'll save it to see the looks on their face, when you blow past the 'Miracles,' believe it! Besides, Riko-chan is a good coach, she'll help everyone else, she won't be able to help you as much."

"How do you know?" He seems much more analytical than before.

"Your style is very unique. I know of people who specialize in Misdirection but they usually have well rounded skills, once their Misdirection loses it's effectiveness. I won't be able to improve your Misdirection, I think you're already one of the best I know. We are going to improve something else. Anyway," giving her his signature smile, he started to walk away, only to turn around and say, "don't you have a player to screw with?"

Watching his back fade away, she could help but think, 'Naruto-kun, what did you do in America?'

* * *

"What, we are playing the second-years? But, they made it to the finals even though they were a first year team!"

"We're so screwed."

"Maa, coach, since we have six first years, I'll sit out on this one." Naruto said, striding to stand next to the coach. "I'm not that good anyway."

Suspiciously watching him, Aida thought, 'Somethings fishy here, I have to keep an eye on him. He seems to know Kuroko-chan, but he's not a Miracle player. Well, maybe he doesn't know her, but she hardly talks to anyone else as much as she talks to him.'

Deep in her thoughts, the game commenced, shaking her out of them. Her eyes focused on the game, she saw watched Kagami, impressed by his skills. He alone allowed the first years to gain a slight lead by the first part of the game.

"Kagami-kun is pretty impressive." Naruto stated.

"Yes, but the second years are going easy, if Kagami-kun can't get the ball, he can't score. Hyuga-kun knows this. He isn't the captain for nothing."

Naruto smile, "I know."

She glanced at Naruto, slightly wary of that smile, it looked like he was scheming. She said nothing and continued to watch the game.

Part way through the second quarter, she look proud. She was happy that her returners were doing so well. Eyes widening, she watched a pass fly from nowhere and it let Furihata score, she felt uneasy.

She finally saw Kuroko and how she was passing. She let out a small gasp, 'This is the the power of the phantom player.' But, to have someone like this in front of her, along with Kagami, she let out a dreamy sigh. 'This year looks promising.'

When Kurko finally was on a breakaway, Aida held her breath, what more can she show us? What followed was the worst layup she had ever seen. She facepalmed, how do you miss such an easy layup?

Thankfully Kagami was there to follow it up, but still.

Beside her, Naruto let out a hearty laugh.

Chapter End.

* * *

Again, I thank you all for reading! If you have time to leave a review I greatly appreciate it. 'Till next time!


	2. Shadow II

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

_'Flashbacks'_

Hello again! Thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed this story! I was kind of hesitant to post this story but it seems my worries were for naught. Here's chapter two of the Brightest Light!

I don't own Naruto and Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

Kise was annoyed. First off, that powerful presence he felt wasn't Kagami. While he was no joke, and that slightly worried him, he wasn't the one who he felt. Second, his Kurokocchi was on this joke of a team! She could be so good on his team. They could stand up to the others!

But, this wasn't the thing that upset him the most. No, what upset him the most was that someone was rubbing her head! She never let anyone do this but this no name person! He even saw a small, almost unnoticeable, unless you knew Kurokocchi, smile on her face! He knew what to do.

"Give us Kurokocchi."

Ha, that would show him, she would join his team and leave this no name. He closed his eyes as he walked toward her, surely this guy would leave her alone. 'Oh, crap, imagine if Akashi found out, haha, I'll just conveniently forget.'

Knowing he would be just a few feet in front of Kurokocchi, he opened his eyes. Everyone behind Kurokocchi was shocked. Everyone but this fellow blonde. He didn't even look phased!

"Oi! Who do you think you are? Let go of Kurokocchi!" He was angry now, this guy, did he not know who he was?

"No."

Kise looked appalled. The blonde didn't say that, that meant-

"But, Kurokocchi, y-you, you, never let us do that."

A single word set Kise into in his usual self. "Kurokocchi, do you not love me anymore, is that why you left, it's all my fault, I'm a horrible person." He started to cry into his sleeve, sad that Kuroko had left him.

The whole Seirin team deadpanned, this was a Miracle player?

Kise realized something, "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you." He gave Kise a grin.

Kise's eyes widened, this was one of the few people Akashi was wary of? But he looks so harmle- Was this the presence he felt? He didn't feel it now, but there was something about him, he knew it.

His eyes narrowed, "Who are you really?"

"Maa, don't worry about it." Naruto waved him off. Kise saw eye twitches and tick marks from the players behind him Naruto, it seemed like he answered like this a lot.

Realizing his question wasn't going to get answered, Kise turned his attention back to Kuroko.

"I'm serious Kurokocchi, come join us, I miss playing with you, I'm sure we could go far together. We could win everything."

Sighing, Kuroko responded, "I'm sorry Kise-kun, I'm staying here." Blushing every so slightly. "Besides, I promised Kagami-kun that we would beat the Generation of Miracles. There's a reason I left, maybe you'll find out when we win."

The Seirin team was still flabbergasted, so much was going on, and they had never heard Kuroko say so much.

When nobody said anything for a few moments, her blush increased and she put her head into Naruto's shoulder, reverting to her old habits when put on the spot.

Naruto smiled down to her, there was the Kuroko-chan he knew so well.

Kise stood there shocked again. Something has changed Kurokocchi. Her behavior was unexpected. In all his years of playing with her and getting coaching from her, she had never done that. It had to be Naruto. She never acted this shy.

As much as he hated doing this, he was going to call Akashi. The five of them swore to look over Kurokocchi and this wasn't normal. He wasn't looking forward to this.

"I see. I guess if I beat you, you'll come back to your senses." With that being said, Kise walked away.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, why did you want to meet me here?" Kuroko said as she made herself known. Naruto was shooting the ball from the three-point line, each shot followed by a satisfying swoosh.

He turned towards her, not even slightly scared from her unexpected appearance. He was the one person she could never misdirect and he always felt her presence.

"Well, if I'm going to train you, I need to know your skills."

"You already know my skills, besides from misdirection and passing, I'm not good at anything else." That got a laugh from him.

"Oh, come on, I know you very well, you have more skills then you let on. There's no point in hiding it. If I'm going to train you, I'll need to know everything."

Sighing she replied, "Fine, it's not like I could ever hide anything to you." She looked down, slightly depressed. She really didn't want anyone to know. She planned on pulling out her moves when the team needed them most. Before Naruto had left, he could read her like a book and it looked like nothing had changed.

"Don't look so sad, let's just play."

Passing the ball to her, both of them took their positions.

She smirked slightly, "I should warn you though, you might be surprised." With that said, she disappeared. Smirking, she knew she finally caught him off guard. Only Momoi had seen this and she was really impressed.

She frowned, when she found herself still in front of him, the now, annoying grin on his face.

"But, what?" Her shock must of been prevalent on her face as Naruto quickly responded.

"Don't worry about that Kuroko-chan, if that was anyone else that would be an easy drive. This deals a bit with misdirection, right?"

Still dribbling the ball, she replied, "Yeah, a bit, it's better with teammates, where it's easier to misdirect them or at least, that's how I think it's going to work. I see that it still needs some improvement." How? Even if there were no teammates with her, she still should be able to pass him with her Vanishing Drive.

"I'm too used to your presence. It's good, but like I said, if that had been anyone else, you would of scored, no doubt."

She smiled, slightly reasured. All her hard work payed off and if Naruto said it was good, she would believe him.

"Hmm, I see, how's your shooting skills, did you ever improve them?"

With that being said, he backed off of her and she shot from the three point line and made it, easily.

"Keep going, run around and shoot from everywhere."

She smiled smugly, she knew he wasn't expecting her to shoot, she wasn't able to make anything when he knew her before. She moved around the court, seamlessly transitioning from receiving the ball to shooting it. He watched her gracefully make her shots, smiling. Maybe, Teiko didn't screw her over as much as he thought.

Seeing that she was shooting fine, he moved forward, "Now, what if I'm guarding you?"

She tried dribbling around him, but proved ineffective, not matter what she did. A crossover here, a spin move there, for a second, she thought she had caught him off guard and took a shot. The ball harmlessly shot off to the side, the ball not even getting close to the basket. Naruto looked over at her, a smirk on his face, "You did miss that layup on purpose, right?"

"Of course I did! I'm not that bad, I knew Kagami-kun was behind me. I had to play it off or Kise-kun would get suspicious. Only Aoimine-kun knows I'm better then I let on, and, maybe Akashi-kun too."

"Oh, you're better then you let on?" Naruto said, catching her slip up.

'Dammit! I didn't mean to say that.'

She sighed, it's like he knew all her secrets. Deciding that Naruto wasn't going to give up unless he saw something good, she picked up the ball. "Come on, lets keep going."

She started to dribble and then dashed to the far side of the court, Naruto hot on her heels. She committed and pulled out her pass-like shot, unhappy to say the least. Her self named 'Phantom Shot,' quickly shot out of her hands. Naruto tried to stop her, only to find the ball passing right through his hand, like it wasn't even there.

The shot slid right through the hoop, the bouncing of the ball was all the could be heard on the court.

Naruto stared wide-eyed, "That was incredible. How do you shoot like that? What's the range? When is it ineffective? What's the name of that shot? How do you even shoot like that?"

She had never seen him so amazed. She was expecting him to block the shot, in all honesty.

Mumbling, slightly embarrassed, Kuroko said,

"I just shot like a pass, before I learned how to properly shoot that was how I did shoot. Aomine-kun help me, until he forced me to shoot in the correct stance." She will never let him down for that, that was so many weeks in hell.

"Once I was done learning to shoot correctly, I was messing around and came up with that. I call it the 'Phantom Shot,' and I've never used it against anyone, besides you now," she finished.

"Is there a reason you play in the shadows? You could easily be a good player." Especially if his instincts felt right.

"Akashi-kun told me to play this way, he said it what I was best at. And if I change too much, I'll" she stopped and clenched her fist, biting into the skin. "I'll," choking on her words again she started to hyperventilate. Her fears being too strong.

She felt Naruto's arms wrap around her and she immediately flew into him, where she felt safe. She heard him quietly whisper into her ear, saying, "It's okay."

Then the wall stopping her words broke, "I'll become like them. They abandoned me and I never want that to happen to anyone. I couldn't even finish the third season because of it." Her breathing finally slowed down.

Naruto stared up at the sky, 'How does this even happen. When I left her in their care, I never expected things to turn out like this. Was I wrong leaving Kuroko-chan with Akashi? Something changed after I left and not for the better.'

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before saying, "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I," she hesitated, "I really needed that."

"Good, because, when your team needs you, you're going to need to use these skills." She tried to interrupt. "No, there will be a time, when the team can't beat someone, you will be that person."

'But if not, I'm going to slowly take them down until there is nothing left. I will never forgive Akashi for what he's done to you. I told him to watch over her. This wasn't what I imagined. She could of been so great. Her love of basketball is like no other, instead of shining in the light like she should, she plays in the shadow, afraid.'

"But, what if…" She trailed off.

"Don't worry, I'm here for good, I won't let you become what they've turned into. It's not only me, our teammates will be there to help. Seirin has good players." She smiled at him, he didn't know how much that meant.

"Now, when were you going to tell me you can use The Zone?"

Dread fell over her.

"What, how do you know that?" There was no way. She went into for a little bit, the smallest amount of time and all she did was pass faster. There was no way her knew! But here he was, telling her that he knew.

"What do you think I did in America?"

"I, I don't know." She honestly replied

"Do you know who my parents are?" Her head snapped up, that didn't seem relevant.

"I thought you were an orphan."

Chuckling, "Yes, but an orphan still comes from parents. My parents were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki."

A gasp came from Kuroko. "But, they wer-"

"Some of the greatest basketball players in the world, yes. Once a friend told me about who I was, I had to go find out more about them. So I traveled to America where they played and I met my father's trainer. Then I trained under him for a few years."

Still shell-shocked all she could reply with was, "Who?"

"Jiraiya."

* * *

"Ryota-kun, why have you called me?" An annoyed Akashi asked.

"What? I can't just call you?"

"Ryota-kun, if this a joke..." The threat hanging the air.

"No! No, this is about Kurokocchi."

Akashi sighed, he was going to get a call about this a lot more in the foreseeable future, "Ryota-kun, I know Tetsuka-chan went to Seirin, I can't say I'm happy about it, but she was insistent on it."

"No Akashi-kun, this is about a player on their team."

"Ryota-kun, I know about Kagami, he's nothing to worry about, I'm sure even you can be him."

Kise's eye twitched. "Of course I beat him, who do you think I am? I wouldn't let him beat me."

Akashi's voice gained a deadly tone, "Then your wasting my time Ryota-kun, I'm going to hang up now."

"No, no, no, no wait! Remember that time when you told the five of us to be wary of one person? Akashi-kun, he was there!"

"What?"

"Akashi-kun, who is Naruto Uzumaki?"

Akashi became pale. Naruto-kun was back?

"Naruto-kun was the one who named us the Generation of Miracles."

* * *

_Akashi was standing on the court at Teiko, in awe, he was so excited to play._

_"Okay," the famed Shuzo Nijimura stepped forward, "we're going to be hold some some five on fives between first years to determine your skills."_

_He started to separate the groups into five, "Seijuro Akashi, Atsushi Murasakibara, Diaki Aomine, Shintaro Midorima and Shogo Haizaki, you will be one team."_

_He continued to make groups, until he paused and sighed. "Naruto-kun, while you may actually be a first year, you've played with us enough, we know your skills."_

_"Oh, come on Nijimura-senpai! I can't play with my soon to be teammates?"_

_"No, there would be 26 of you if you played. It'll be easier if you don't."_

_Akashi frowned. That seemed like an unfair advantage. Seeing that the rest of the first years weren't going to step up. He decided to._

_"Nijimura-senpai, how come he's not playing with us? It seems unfair that he won't be tested with us."_

_Nijimura smirked. "As I said there's no need. Naruto-kun would destroy you guys. He should have been playing with us before, but he was too young. I've seen him play, he doesn't need to be test."_

_"Nijimura-senpai! I'm not that good." He finally stepped forward and walked to Nijimura. As he passed the group that Akashi was in, he paused._

_"Hey Nijimura-senpai! I think this team right here is going to be amazing." He pointed towards the group he was in. "So amazing, that I can easily call them a," he paused for dramatic effect, "Generation of Miracles."_

_Nijimura's eyes slightly widened. "Hmm, if you say so Naruto-kun, I'll keep an eye on them for you. Anything else you have to say or can we go?"_

_The mood suddenly shifted and Naruto frowned. "Actually yes, I think the team ought to know. Coach! I need to make an announcement."_

_"Naruto-kun, this better be important." Kozo Shirogane said. He brought the rest of the team over._

_Akashi lost his focus on Naruto, he didn't realize that the Teiko basketball club had so many people, there was at least 80 people, all crowding around, seeing what Naruto had to say. 'Is he that good to draw the players to him like moths to a flame?'_

_Akashi focused his attention back on Naruto._

_"I'm sorry. I won't be able to play with you guys this year."_

_"What!" It sounded like everyone in the gym yelled at the same time._

_Shirogane laughed, "Naruto-kun, you're finally old enough to play with us, of course you can play."_

_Naruto look down, "I'm sorry coach," His bangs covered his eyes. "I can't play. There is a family issue and I was given a choice. It was an opportunity I don't think I'll get again and I'm moving to America."_

_Nijimura yelled getting over his shock and into his anger. "What? You mean after all this time you're going to throw it away for family! All this time?"_

_"I'm sorry Nijimura-senpai." He looked up and Nijimura gasped, tears were forming in his eyes. "This is incredibly important to me!" He chocked on a sob. "Besides," he looked over at Akashi. "This group of guys will take you as far as I could."_

_"Naruto-kun wa-" Nijimura was interrupted by Naruto._

_"I'm sorry," he started to walk away and took one look back, a sad look on his face, before he ran right out of the gym._

* * *

"Is that it? You never saw him play though."

"Ryota-kun, shut up, I'm not finished."

"Sorry!"

* * *

_Later the newly named, Generation of Miracles, dominated the court. Easily taking down all the first years and then they took down the current starting team, amazing everybody in the gym. It was the proudest Akashi had been in a long time._

_The whole gym was silent. For the first time in forever, a group of first years were going to start at Teiko._

_Akashi couldn't keep the smile off his face. This would make his dad proud._

_He decided to stay a bit after practice. In the games he saw that his was shooting sub-par compared to others._

_As he was in the middle of a shot, he heard the gym door open._

_"Ahh, there you are Akashi-kun."_

_He turned and faced the new arrival._

_Was that the guy who left? "You're Naruto right? Aren't you suppose to be gone?"_

_He saw a grin appear on Naruto's face. "No, I thought I would tell the team today, I'm actually leaving tomorrow." He paused._

_"That doesn't matter, what matters is her."_

_Akashi couldn't help but wonder, her? It wasn't until he look closely that he noticed that a girl was hanging onto his arm._

_'What? When did she get there?'_

_"This is Tetsuka Kuroko. She is my most precious person. I will be gone and I don't know for how long. I can feel that you guys," referring to the team he named, Generation of Miracles, "will be good. I want you and your team to watch over her. She is a very good player, but," he smiled and put a hand on her head, "she is very shy."_

_He heard her mumble, "Naruto-kun!" She pulled her head from the side of his body, she introduced herself._

_"Hello, I'm Tetsuka Kuroko, please take care of me."_

_Still with his hand on her head Naruto spoke, "People make fun of her for trying to be on a boy's team. She is a incredible player, I would definitely want her on my team if I was playing."_

_Kuroko's blush darkened._

_Now that Akashi got a good look at her, he noticed she was pretty. The blush on her face was adorable and her voice was like silk. He blushed a little himself, Naruto wanted him to take care of her?_

_"I want you to help her get better, get her over this shyness, I don't know when I'm going to get back so I'm leaving this task to you. Please watch over of her for me."_

_An immense presence dropped on him, making him fall on his knees._

_'What is this, I can hardly breath. I can't move. I want to die. Help!' He looked up and saw blood red eye's piercing right through his soul._

_A horrific voice cut straight through him. "If anything happens to her..."_

_"Naruto-kun! Stop it! You're scaring him!"_

_The presence lifted and he breathed a sigh of relief. He never wanted that to happen again. He looked over to Kuroko, a new light shining on her. How did she stop a monster like him?_

_"Sorry Kuroko-chan. This will be my final goodbye. I'm leaving for good after this. I'm," tears started to appear in both their eyes._

_Akashi suddenly felt like he was intruding on something that nobody should see. They ignored him like he wasn't even there._

_"I'm sorry. I promise I will be back. I promise. I promise. I promise." He started to sob. "I promise."_

_"Naruto-kun, I don't want you to go. I don't want you to leave me. Please stay." She started to bawl and flung herself into him._

_"I can't."_

_Akashi could see that each time she sobbed into him he grew weaker and weaker, he wanted to stay._

_"I can't," he repeated. He took Kuroko in his arms and started to walk away from him._

_The last thing he heard him say was, "Let's go, I might be leaving to tomorrow, but we have the rest of the day to be together."_

_Now alone in the gym, Akashi finally comprehend what Naruto said. 'Take care of her? I don't know how to train anybody! What can I even train her in? I don't know if she is even good at basketball? He seems to think she's good but I didn't even see here today?' Akashi's sighed. 'I didn't even notice she was there and she walked in with him! I didn't even notice she was there? What? How could I not notice somebody like that! She had so little presence.'_

_Akashi let out a small gasp, he knew what to do! He would train Tetsuka-chan to be a shadow! No one would know she was even there. 'That would be so cool.'_

_Akashi returned back to shooting, a smile on his face. He couldn't have know that this wasn't what Naruto wanted. He didn't know how this decision would come back to haunt him._

* * *

Akashi's wanted to punch Ryota, he could hear him crying on the other side of the phone.

"I never saw Naruto-kun after that. Before Shuzo-kun passed his position of captain to me I asked him about Naruto-kun."

* * *

_"Shuzo-senpai, wait! I have one question to ask you. Who is Naruto Uzumaki?"_

_Nijimura turned and faced Akashi. "Let me put it this way. Imagine if Naruto-kun stayed and the Generation of Miracles never came to Teiko. Nothing would of changed. Teiko would of won each championship with him alone. He was that good." He took a step forward and put a hand on his shoulder._

_"There are two things I should warn you about. One, never get him angry. I'm scared of him when he's like that. And two, never, ever hurt Kuroko-chan. He is incredibly overprotective of her. I'm not sure what he would do if something happened to her."_

_Nijimura walked away, his days as Teiko's basketball captain, over._

* * *

There you go! A bit of back story about Naruto and Akashi. I'm sure some of you felt the foreboding sense at the end of this chapter. I've got some twists and turns prepared in the coming chapters, so once this beginning part is over, prepare yourself.

As always, thank you for reading and for all the people who reviewed thank you! I'll try to answer any questions you have.

long live Uzumaki clan: Thanks for the compliment! I got the same feeling when I looked at Naruto crossovers and didn't see any like this. To answer you question, I really have no idea. I'm throwing ideas around in my head and that pairing has come up in my head quite a bit. It seems like it's heading towards that way, but I can't say for certain.

Tru3Ph03niX: I hope you continue to like it! I recently watched Kuroko no Basuke and I loved it so much that it spawned this fanfic!

Pravda93: Thanks!

Aiyoukhyra: I'll try to keep it interesting!

RoyalTwinFangs: I don't want to give to much away but you got a feel for how good Naruto is in this chapter. I'm not too sure if I plan on giving him a nickname, if so I think it will how to do something with foxes, as it's really important in the show Naruto. I feel like it would cool to do, since I don't plan on using too much from the actual story of Naruto for a long time.

About Naruto's skill: We will get to see Naruto in action, I promise. It might not be for a few chapters but I have the perfect place in mind to at least showcase his skills. This is probably the hardest part for me. I want Naruto to be strong, but I don't want him to be completely overpowered. I'm also thinking of some cool ways to incorporate Naruto's skills into basketball skills. There's tons of possibilities but it's hard to keep it balanced.

Anyway, please review if you have the time, I greatly appreciate it! See you all next time!


	3. Shadow III

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

_'Flashbacks'_

Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter of the Brightest Light!

* * *

_He finally made it. He look up in awe, Konoha High was impressive. The building was enormous. He looked left and right and it never ended. He saw the flag in front of the school, waving in the wind, their green and black spiraling symbol displaying itself fully._

_'This was it.'_

_He looked back to the car that dropped him off and saw the person inside nod._

_As he made his way to the stairs leading in, he sighed, he left Kuroko-chan all alone to do this. He hoped Akashi-kun took care of her. He got her on the team and left her. He swore to himself he would make it up to her, but he needed to know if it was true. He hoped that she got better by the time he got back._

_He walked up to the front doors, pushed on it and went through, only to stop and frown._

_'Shit, where was the gym?'_

_Once he found the door, he stopped, took a deep breath and stepped in._

_The first thing he observed was that a basketball practice going on. He felt the guilt hit him again but pushed on, he'd go back, he promised._

_Then he was impressed. This was a high school team? He thought Teiko took basketball seriously, I guess things in America were more intense._

_"Oi, brat! What are you doing here?" Naruto look up, 'Scary.' This man was huge and he had piercings all over._

_"I-I'm looking for someone named Jiraiya." God, he was nervous, this kid was in high school? The said kid look annoyed._

_"What does a brat like you, want with our coach?"_

_"Hey! I'm not a brat," he took a step towards the unnamed man, an annoyed look on his face, "I'm loo-"_

_A voice came from behind him. "Nagato, leave the kid alone, you're scaring him."_

_"Waahhh! Where did you come from?" Naruto screeched._

_"Itachi, you're late and you scared the kid more than I did."_

_A huge shadow fell over Naruto. This guy was huge! He towered over the newly named Nagato. "Nagato got you there, Itachi."_

_"Kisame, shut up." The monotone voice of Itachi replied._

_"I'm loo-"_

_"So harsh."_

_"Oh, do we have a new Jashin member?" Is his hair grey? In highschool?_

_"I'm lookin-"_

_"Hidan, nobody is ever here to join you freakish cult." This guy looked the scariest, who wore a hood to play basketball? This was the weirdest group of people Naruto had even seen._

_"Kakuzu, how dare you!"_

_"I'm loo-"_

_"What are you guys doing over there?"_

_"I'm! Looking! For! Jiraiya!" He had enough, all these freaks, he just wanted to meet his godfather._

_"Oh, is someone looking for me, are you here to buy a book?" Naruto's eye twitch, everyone kept getting even more weird._

_"Coach, nobody buys your books." Nagato said, deadpan._

_"Who are you?" He really wanted to leave, screw finding his godfather. He would go back to Teiko, hang out with Kuroko, play basketball and be happy._

_"Who am I?"_

_He saw Nagato facepalm, muttering, "Now he's done it."_

_"Who am I!"_

_Taking a deep breath, their coach shouted out, "I am the ever gallant Jiraiya, I'm not just a coach but I am a super pervert of the highest calibar. I trained some of the greatest basketball players in the world and now I'm training the best high school team in America!"_

_Colored smoke appeared behind and he finished with a ridiculus pose._

_Naruto couldn't help himself, "You're my godfather? This lump of flesh trained my father?"_

_A small snicker was heard, then rest of the team burst out laughing._

_A deathly silence fell after._

_"Godfather?" Itachi wasn't happy._

_"You have a godson?"_

_"Er, maybe?" Jiraiya shrugged._

_"That's not something you say maybe about."_

_"Who are you kid?"_

_"My names Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."_

_The five of them stared, flabbergasted._

_"Your Minato's son, Minato had a son?"_

_"Yes, they died in a plane crash-"_

_Jiraiya interrupted, "Eleven years ago, yes, I know, who's your mother, you're not lying to me, are you?"_

_A meneacing presance appeared. Naruto was scared, he felt the tears welled up in his eyes, the caretakers were never this mean and intimidating._

_Where was he?_

_"He's not, his mother was Kushina Uzumaki." A voice rang out._

_"Kakashi? My boy! I haven't seen you in forever."_

_Kakashi, stood behind Naruto, next to Itachi, rubbing his head, Naruto quickly embraced Kakashi, scared of his so called godfather._

_"And what do you have to confirm this Kakashi? Minato never talked to me about having a wife or a child, I know he took a two year break and went to Japan. He somehow got married and had a kid with one of the greatest female basketball players?" Jiraiya sternly questioned Kakashi._

_"If Minato and Kushina had a kid, do you not feel people would be out to get him? They were both incredibly famous. No, they married in secret in Japan, I was there. When they had Naruto, they had to quickly get to America. They had an emegency meeting with their teams, they were only supposed to be gone for a little more than a week. After having him, they told me to watch over him for a bit and took a flight to America. They never made it._

_I," Kakashi paused, displeased. "I fell into depression so I-I dropped Naruto off at an orphanage, I could hardly take care of myself, much less a child. I looked up to Minato like a father and I only saw Minato when I looked at Naruto. I finally was able to face Naruto and I told him about his parents and his godfather, you. I took him here. It was all I could do to make up to him and one other thing."_

_A stunned silence fell over the court._

_It was broken by Jiraiya, "Okay, I believe you, Minato's student wouldn't lie to me like that, what was the other thing you mentioned."_

_"I want you to help me train Naruto."_

* * *

"And then I trained with them and Konoha High for two years before coming back here."

That's amazing.

"Naruto-kun, that's amazing." Kuroko was stunned, but two questions remained prevalent in her mind.

"How good are you?"

She felt his hand on her head again. "Don't worry about it. I'm here to train you, I don't plan on playing too much."

'Akashi-kun will pay for how he turned you into this 'shadow' instead of bringing out your talent. If you can't show him his errors, I will.'

"And how did you know I could go in The Zone?"

"That's a good question, but the real question is, how did you know it was called The Zone?"

Now that Kuroko thought about it, she didn't know know. But, she knew she went into The Zone. She was in the game having a blast and then she was just... in The Zone.

"The Zone is in an interesting thing. Not many people can go into it. You must love you game, or have a increidbly high will to win. Not only that, but, you must have inherint talent."

He paused as he thought how to word what he would say next. Kuroko listened on with interest.

"The Zone is living and breathing. If two teams faced and both had someone who could go into The Zone, one player would go into The Zone and that would bring out the other person who could go into The Zone also. It see's a challenge and reacts. It's a strange thing and I'm not quite sure what else there is to learn."

Kuroko stared at Naruto, a questioning look in her eye. 'Did he go insane in America?'

He laughed, "Don't worry, it sounds weird, I thought the same thing. If you don't believe me, you will soon."

"Fine, I'll ask again, how did you know I could do that?"

"Kakashi is one of the best analyzers I know, and I trained under him. While he is a good point guard his skills come from being able to play and analyze at the same time. A surprising demanding task. He could be a great team manager if his skills ever fell.

Since I couldn't learn his play style very well, he told me tips on being able to recognize strong players. One of the things he taught me was being able to recognize people in The Zone. I also have the ability to go into The Zone and it's easier to recognize who else can do it.

But if you can't enter The Zone," his hand traveled down to her chin bringing her eyes to his.

"It's in the eyes. There is something different in the eye's of the people who can go into the zone. You have it."

They continued to stand there. Kuroko started to get embarrassed and fidgeted, she never look into Naruto-kun's eyes for so long, she didn't realize how blue they are.

His hand dropped. "Anyway, that's good for me, not good for you. I'll help you with you basics and improve your ball handling. You're shots pretty good but if you can't get pasted anyone with the ball you won't score. To do that I'm going to train you using the method Jiraiya used on me. He calls it In-Zone Training."

He dropped his hand from her face and stepped away, picking up the ball.

Kuroko saw the deadly smirk that appeared on his face, she didn't like it. She hesitantly asked, "In-Zone Training?"

"Haha," he chuckled maniacally. "The basics of it is that I will force you into The Zone and we play basketball. Since The Zone pushes you past your normal limits, your muscles are built at an incredible rate. The downside is your will be so, so, sore. And, you still have to practice with the team."

He started to laugh evilly again, "Let's get started."

He passed the ball to her and a terrifying presence pushed down onto her, 'Is this what if feels like when Naruto unleashes his presence on someone?'

Time slowed as the ball got closer and closer. Naruto smirked.

The presence only seemed to get stronger the closer the ball got until it was inches from her face.

It was going to hit her, it was going to going to hit her. Oh god, this is going to hurt.

The ball smacked her right on the forehead.

The presence dissapeared. "Naruto-kun..." She felt some blood trickle down her forehead. Her hand wiped the blood away, wincing, she felt a small gash where the ball hit.

"What was the point of that!?"

He looked terrified. "Sorry, sorry! You were suppose to catch the ball." Her eye gain a deadly twitch and she scowled.

"How was I suppose to catch the ball!"

"Okay, I get your angry-"

"Angry? Angry?," Naruto shrunk as her voice got progressively louder. "You threw a ball at me, at an incredible speed, with no warning to me. Again, how was I suppose to catch the ball?"

She was seething. Naruto watched her, she was so intense when she was angry.

"Well, usually when a person is in The Zone, they don't freeze like that."

"Wha-, in The Zone?"

She looked around, everything was slower, the rustle of the leaves, how fast the ball was bouncing. Then she felt it, the familiar rush that The Zone brings you. It was glorious.

All that she could say was, "How?"

He pulled a bandage out of his bag and applied it to her face.

She watched as he gently put the bandage on her face. He was so close and he looked into her eyes seeing the electric blue that emitted from being in The Zone and smiled, "I really didn't mean for the ball to hit you. It was what Jiraiya did to me, so, I did it to you. I'm sorry."

He finished with the bandage and said, "Anyway, you're not the only one in The Zone, see," He pointed to his eyes. "Normally, it's almost impossible to force yourself into The Zone but if a challenge appears, The Zone responds. Like I said, it acts as if it's alive. Ready to play?"

She finally noticed it, the blue streaks coming from his eyes. She stared, memorized.

"Play, I thought we were training." She was confused, sometimes Naruto-kun didn't make any sense.

"What do you think I would train you in The Zone? It would be impossible to maintain that. The Zone requires you to be play a strong opponent. Were going to play in The Zone, I'll push you to your limits. Let's go."

With that said, he pick up the ball and speed on by her, his hand patting her hand on the way by.

She pouted and took after him.

"Oh, and by the way, were are playing full court."

She slapped the ball out of his hands and quickly recovered it.

He stopped her, mid court. "That's pretty impressive, your speeds amazing in The Zone. What are you going to do... now?"

She vanished.

'And I thought that drive of hers was scary before hand.' He watched her score the layup. 'I didn't expect her to be this good. Oh man! I'm so excited to see when she finally uses this in a game! But, I'm worried how mad she will be when she finds out. I shouldn't hide this from her but I don't think she could overcome her own shadow if she knew how much this will change her.'

* * *

Five minutes passed and Kuroko was having the time of her life, she didn't get to really play the last time she was in the zone, she bet nobody in Teiko even noticed it. It was so exhilarating, the grin wouldn't leave her face. She pulled out moves she never thought she could do and she was confident of doing them.

She leaped to the side, her body, parallel with the ground and shot the ball, only to land on her feet. Naruto grabbed the ball and sped to her net. From an outside perspective, she disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto to halt Naruto's drive at her free throw line.

He drove left, but appeared on her right and drove the ball into the net.

'What was that? I swore he was going to the left, but, it's almost like he flashed to the right.'

She grabbed the ball and sprinted down the court. Naruto was right there, impeding her progress. She tried her Vanishing Drive again, it didn't work so she continued to push Naruto back to the middle of his three point line.

Once more she tried her Vanishing Drive, only to find the ball not in her hand anymore.

As she was getting back to her position she heard him say, "I think I'm getting the hang of your drive." He looked behind him and smirk at her. "It's not that good."

'That'll piss her off.'

Oh, and piss her off it did. She was in front of him in an instant. Her enraged eyes stared at him.

'Oh, maybe that wasn't a good idea.'

He once more drove left. Kuroko saw this and smirk, "That won't work this time!"

He appeared on her left and she lunged for the ball. She phased right though him. 'What!'

He scored the layup and looked back at her and tilted his head to the side with a grin. "What was that?" He laughed, mockingly.

She was down the court in an instant. As Naruto watched he blinked, was he going crazy. There were two Kuroko's dribbling the ball. The bounces even lined up with everytime the ball hit the ground.

He couldn't stop this, he let he through, it was time for her to stop anyways.

When Naruto finally stop right there, Kuroko was worried.

"Naruto-kun was wrong? Why'd you stop? Come on, let's go!"

"Ahh, Kuroko-chan, you're not going to be happy tomorrow."

A frowned creased her face. "What does that have anything to do with this."

"You'll see."

She saw his eyes return to normal and she felt herself slowly fall out of The Zone, then she felt her woozy.

"What are you talking about?" Then she felt it, her whole body felt like it weighed a ton.

"Oh," she started to fall. She stopped before she was even close to the ground.

"I knew there was a reason you are perfect for me."

Her face turned exploded into a bright red.

"Wha-" The events of the day and Naruto's words were to much for her.

She passed out.

"Crap, I don't even know where she lives. Well, oh well, I'm sure she'll be okay. It'll actually be better like this."

He continued to talk to Kuroko, "I'm sorry. You might hate me for a bit, but, to see you shine, there's nothing more that I want. I will make you the brightest light."

He made his way home, Kuroko in his arms.

While he was unsure if he was right, he was happy he didn't have to do what Jiraiya did to him.

* * *

_He couldn't get passed Nagato. He didn't know what to do, no one had ever shut him down this much._

_'I can't let him stop me. I have to beat him. I need to beat him. Faster, I need to be faster! If I can't be him with skill, I'll beat him with speed.'_

_Naruto drove to the left side of Nagato but, Nagato was there, not even a step behind him. He took one step right, the pushed down slightly harder on the ball allowing it to bounce higher than usual. With the ball just a bit higher in the air, it allowed him to drive come back to his left side and drive once more. He was unbalanced, but Nagato was in the same boat._

_Years of experience allowed Nagato to recover first and he took the ball from Naruto, stopping his drive._

_Naruto fell to his knees and pounded the ground. He saw Jiraiya's face and it was the exact same as it was at the start, flat and unamused._

_"Get up Naruto, if you can't beat him, I won't train you!"_

_He got up, he did it again, and again, and again. Itachi watch as he failed over and over._

_'This kid doesn't know when to give up.'_

_"Arghh!" Naruto drove the ball, and for the first time that day, he saw the hoop. He finally got passed him! He drove to the net and jumped up, planning on scoring a layup._

_A hand slammed the ball back at him._

_'This is… I can't! I finally got by him and he still blocked the ball. I can't… did I come all this way for nothing. If I can't beat him, how can I win? I need to win.'_

_He got up again and yelled._

_"Again!"_

_The ball was in his hand and he drove again, he spun, he crossed over, his hand hurt from how much he was dribbling. The ball was stolen once more._

_"Again!"_

_'I have to win! I have to win! If I win, I can train with him.'_

_He tried once more to get passed Nagato, the result was still the same._

_Another ten minutes passed._

_Everyone besides Itachi and Jiraiya had left._

_"Again!"_

_Itachi had enough, this wasn't fair, this was horrible, Nagato was the best point guard in high school. He was named the 'All Seeing' for a reason, no one had ever gotten passed him in a one on one match._

_He watched the ball get stolen again._

_"Again!" He had never seen someone look so desperate._

_He took a step forward, intent on stopping this. A hand stopped him in his tracks._

_"No." Jiraiya said._

_"But..."_

_"Again!"_

_"Do you not see it? The desperate look on his face. The need to win? He's grown up thinking he's unstoppable. He has never lost and someone has told him he can't lose, he's been trained to win. Depending on what happens will determine if I will train him."_

_He looked back at the two of them._

_"Again!"_

_Itachi's eyes narrowed. Was he going into The Zone? To do it when he was so young, he really is the son of Minato and Kushina. He said a red eclectic current, appear in his eyes._

_'Red? Aren't his eyes blue?'_

_"I will win!" Naruto roared, shaking the court._

_Naruto felt a rush of energy. He could do it now, he knew it. Nothing could stop him, he drove to his left once more, Nagato was there with him._

_Naruto smirked and proceeded to crossover to his right hand, under Nagato's legs and flashed to the other side of him._

_He would make this, he would slam dunk this one!_

_He leaped up to the net, the ball spiraling in his hand and slammed down._

_The ball fell to the ground, bouncing away._

_Thump! Thump! Thump, thump, thump._

_A pair of knees hit the ground._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_A fist slammed in the floor._

_"I can't!"_

_Bam! The same fist hit again._

_Naruto sobbed. "I can't win. I can't do it. I'm sorry Kakashi-san, I'm sorry Jiraiya-sensei, I can't do it. I can't beat Nagato, I guess I'm heading back to Japan now."_

_Jiraiya stepped forward and put a hand his shoulder._

_"Get up."_

_"I can't, I can't win. I can't move. I-"_

_He was on his feet but he wasn't holding himself up. He looked up and saw both Nagato and Jiraiya holding him on his feet, as they walked him to the bench._

_"You did well." Nagato said._

_"But I couldn't beat you, it doesn't matter if I don't win, I lost. I lost." He was placed on the bench and put his head into his red, worn hands, tears still leaking from his eyes._

_"What did you learn?" Jiraiya asked, his face still stern._

_"I didn't learn anything!" Naruto exploded in hysterics, head still in his head. "All I did was play and lose, I didn't learn anything. I can't go back to Teiko now. If Shirogane-sensei knows I lost, I might not be able to play anymore. I just want to play and win! Tell him to let me play! I'll do anything. I just want to play with people."_

_Jiraiya smiled. "You just want to play with people? Would you want to win or play with others?"_

_Naruto looked up._

_"I want to..."_

* * *

_A nine year old Naruto was dribbling a ball on a run done court, alone. It was across the street from the orphanage and it was where Naruto spent most of his time._

_He was sitting on the side of the court, a sad look on his face as he wait for something._

_He saw Kuroko approaching and ran up to her._

_"Hey Kuroko-chan, you will play basketball with me, right? No matter what?"_

_A young Kuroko, blushed lightly and responded, "Yeah, basketball is fun and you're really strong, I can get better if I play with you."_

_Naruto smiled and rushed up and hugged Kuroko._

_"N-Naruto-kun, w-w-what's wr-wrong?"_

_Naruto had never hugged her before and she turned bright red from the unexpected contact._

_Still not letting go of her, Naruto said, "It's just, all the kids at the orphange don't want to play with me anymore, they say I'm too good and every time I come to play." He looked down, "They all leave and I hardly get to play anymore. I just want to play basketball, so," he let go of her, "will you play with me?"_

_"Yeah, I'll play with you. Come on," Kuroko smiled, "let's play!"_

_"Thank you, Tetsuki-chan."_

_"T-T-Tesuki-chan?" She was instantly red again. She felt woozy, 'Tetsuki-chan.'_

_"Ahh! I mean, Kuroko-chan, can I call you that. I mean… Kuroko-chan?"_

_She was staring off into space._

_'Maybe I won't call her that for a bit.'_

_Naruto sat down and waited for Kuroko, he was sure she would be okay in a few minutes, he hoped. A huge grin on his face, he was ecstatic. He might not get to play in full games against the others anymore, but, he got to play with Kuroko. He got to play with her and that's all that matters._

* * *

_...play with others!"_

_"Good, that's what I'm looking for. You were not meant to beat Nagato, he's way older than you. He's bigger than you, faster than you, smarter than you and has more experience than you. Don't worry about it. Winning is not everything, you can't win everything. There's something wrong with your coach, to push winning so hard. Basketball is a team sport. There is a reason you have four other teammates to win with, to lose with and to cry with. You will have happy times and sad times, but you will never be alone. Remember that._

_Now, since I'm going to train you, I should warn you, be ready. This will be the toughest time of your life."_

_Kakashi poked his head through the gym door._

_"Maa, I'll train you too!"_

_A small giggle escaped from Naruto. The events caught up to him and he broke out in laughter._

_"Thank you! Thank you! I'm really tired… though..."_

_When those words left his mouth, he laid down on the bench, he closed his eyes and he fell asleep._

* * *

There we go, learned a bit more about Naruto and Kuroko, this was difficult to write but I made it. :)

RoyalTwinFangs: I'm not sure what you mean. If your talking about what Seiho High does, I'm not to sure. I personally don't know enough about martial arts to feel confident writing it. If you talking about some of Naruto's fight styles from the anime, I'm definitely trying. I'm thinking of moves that would make sense in a basketball sense.

ThePizziaMan: Early on Naruto will be stronger, there are a few factors that I'm playing around in my head to keep him balanced. I don't want him so strong that every game would be boring. I have a slight rant about my thoughts below.

Dzerx: I can't confirm if this is NarutoxKuroko but it's definitely a possibility.

long live Uzumaki clan: No problem, I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! This chapter had both of them when they were a bit younger, but not at the point where they met. I'm sure I'll find a place to put where they both met. Ahh! I can't spoil the surprise but Naruto will play in an actual game soon!

Tru3Ph03niX: I didn't even realize I didn't finish the conversation. I found the point where I wanted to stop and was like, "That seems like a good place."

To the guest reviewer: This might lead on to a slight tangent and so I thought I might inform everyone. The jist of his review was why not make Naruto really strong and make him a challenge to overcome later. Before I go on I can say that it wouldn't really fit the story, if Naruto wasn't on Kuroko's team, it would be easier, but they're on the same team.

So, why am I trying my hardest not to make Naruto overpowered?

The first thing I thought when I started to write this story was, what do I like to read in a story? I thought of three main types of crossovers I like, one, a story where Naruto is overpowered and flaunts it, two, a story where he is overpowered but only acts when necessary, almost like a strong 'side character' and three, a normal story where Naruto grows with everyone else.

The first one I mentioned is my least favorite, the writing starts out cool and it has a novel experience, like, "Yeah, I didn't like that character, stomp his face." But, I grow tired of those quick and I lose interest once the story progresses and I stop reading the story. Cool, Naruto is literally unstoppable. What's the point of reading it? There's no sense of fear for any of the characters, every time I see a notification, I'm not worried, I don't think, "What can this chapter bring?" I like things kind of like Attack on Titan, it's unpredictable, who knows what can happen?

I think NeonZangetsu does a really good job on making Naruto strong, sometimes overpowered, but keeps my attention because it isn't a focus of the story. His story, Dark Side of the Moon, is a good example of Naruto being overpowered but I end up not caring because every time I see an update, I wonder, "Where can this go?" So I contradicted myself a bit, but I'm tired and I think I conveyed my feelings on it.

I like the third way but it doesn't fit with this crossover, for Naruto at least. All the main characters in Kuroko no Basuke start off strong. They are all good at basketball in their own way, and I already feel like I'm dragging the beginning along. I haven't even reached the third episode of the anime! I also wanted to focus on Naruto and Kuroko and I like the way things are progressing. For that to happen Naruto need to be strong.

So I went with the second option. Of course, I've done it my own way, so it's not exactly like I said, but I hope you get my point. One of my favorite stories, that's being updated regularly, is End Game Version R by Kur0kishi. Naruto is ridiculously strong, but every update I go in wondering what could happen. That's how I hope I write the up and coming games and that's what I want to do with the story overall.

Anyway, -rant over-

As always, thank you for reading and leave a review if you have the time!


	4. Shadow IV

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

_'Flashbacks'_

Hello everyone! Here's the first real game I've written, so it might not be the best but I hope you all enjoy!

**Important: **I've went back to the first chapter and added a small description to both Naruto and Kuroko. I reread them and realized I totally didn't describe them. If you want to go back and read it, it's up to you. And thanks to Tru3Ph03niX I've gone ahead and put italics for all the flashbacks in the first few chapters.

I don't own Kuroko no Basuke or Naruto

* * *

The first thing Kuroko thought when she woke up was that didn't remember her alarm clock being that annoying. The second thing she thought was the her bed was way colder than usual. When she opened her eyes she realized that this was not her room, she had a light blue ceiling, not a dark blue.

"Wha?" She mumbled, still waking up.

Wiping her eyes and looking over at the clock she quickly turned and of and read it: 5:30.

Why was her alarm set so early? She remembered playing with Naruto-kun, then nothing? Did she pass out?

She tried to get out. Everything hurt so much, so had never been so sore in her life. She didn't know if she was going to be able to even walk. When she stood up, she wobbled slightly and fell back on the bed, it hurt too much. She was just going to lay her.

She noticed her clothes were hanging on the front of the bed, looking down, she noticed she was only in her panties and bra. She reached over, wincing, and put on her white and red shorts.

As she went to grab her shirt, she heard a knock on her door, then a fully dressed Naruto came through, he looked tired.

"Oh, good morning Kuroko-chan, don't get dressed anymore than that, come on follow me."

"What? Don't get dressed?"

He was already leaving, not hearing her. She blushed and fiddled with her hands. 'I guess I follow?' Still confused, she wobbled after him, she took the first few steps before she fell on her knee, her legs giving out. A loud thump rippled through room.

Naruto came rushing in. "Oh, shit! I didn't realize how sore you were." He picked her up and then grabbed her shirt.

Her faced turned into a tomato. "Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" She dug her head into his chest, her arms around his neck, incredibly embarrassed. He started to walk out of the room.

He felt her light blue hair tickle his arms, "Maa, you're so cute when you embarrassed."

Steam poured out of her eyes, 'cute?'

"Don't worry, once we start, you'll feel great."

'This is a dream, this is a dream.'

Naruto didn't say anything for a bit, and she calmed down, her face still flush from the close contact with Naruto. Even as he carried her, she still felt exhausted.

"Naru-kun, where are we going?" She sleepily asked.

He smirked, he wasn't expecting her to be so adorable when she woke up, "We're almost there, you'll see."

He lead her through a series of doors that never ended. There were so many doors! Finally, she pulled her head from his chest and she looked around, she let out a small gasp. This wasn't a house! This looked like a mansion. Did Naruto really live her?

As if reading her mind, he spoke, "This is were my parents stayed while they were here. They bought the house but died before they could really move in." He smiled sadly, "I really wish I could have meet them, I've watch so many of their games but..." He trailed of lost in thought. "Sorry, anyway, we're here."

They finally arrived, she looked through the door and saw another bed.

He placed her on the bed, 'Wait, is that?'

"Lay on your stomach."

Still confused and tired, Kuroko couldn't help but follow his instructions and put her head in the convenient hole by the top. He pulled out a bottle of oil and poured in on his hands.

"Naruto-kun, what are you-" his hands started to massage her shoulders, "oh, oh, that feels good."

She felt his arms start to massage her back. He started with her shoulders and traveled down to each individual arm. She felt like putty to his hands and the soreness melted away. He moved down to the base of her back. She let out another moan. She felt her muscles relax.

"You can go back to sleep if you like, I don't know what time you usually wake up. I'll wake you up once I'm done."

She sighed as he hit a particularly tense spots. Why was he doing this, not that she minded, oh, this felt so good. "Naruto-kun, why?"

His arms traveled down to her legs and he grinned as she let out a sigh of relief, "Why what?"

Do I get one of theses every day? "You know, this."

"This massage will help with the soreness. I let you stay in The Zone for too long. You still have a game to play in today and school for that matter. Turn over."

She did, feeling to great to even think about that request. He started from her foot and once he made it to her thighs he switched to her arms. He started to speak.

"I learned at Konoha High, they helped me learn how to do this. They can afford to buy people to massage their players everyday. Jiriaya insisted that I also learn how to do this since it can really help key players if they are too sore the next day."

He blew air out of his mouth, amused. "I was really bad at the start and I think I ended up making some of the players worse off, but I did get better at the end of the first year. So I thought I'd let you have one, since I don't know where you live. Besides, these really help with soreness and will help you feel much better later in the day. You'll easily be able to get back to playing after a good warm-up."

His hands made their way up to her neck. His eye twitched.

"Once I start to do this for some of the players, they made me massage them on the bus on the way home. It was ridiculous."

He made his way down to her stomach. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she let out another sigh.

"It's much more fun to give massages willingly and when you have time to do full body ones."

His hands move further up, making their way dangerously close to her breast, her face lit up. It felt to good for her to really care about and she felt her self slowly drift off. She tried to say something but Naruto seemed to be in a zone and continued to talked.

"You should probably get back to sleep or you'll end up sleeping all day. I'm sure we have a scrimmage today and I want you to be at your fullest. When do you plan on showing off some of your skills?"

He looked over at her, expecting an answer only to find a sleeping Kuroko. He smiled.

"Good night, Kuroko-chan."

* * *

Kuroko had the cutest snore. He chuckled. 'Poor Kuroko-chan, she was so tired, she slept in every class.'

They were on the bus to Kaijo and she was resting on his shoulder, blowing her hair away from her face with every snore.

He briefly thought back to their training sessions. Maybe, he pushed her a bit too much. Five minutes in The Zone is a long time for how low her stamina is. He would have to work on that.

He was a bit peeved though. Besides from Aomine-kun, did no one else train Kuroko at Teiko? Wasn't Akashi suppose to improve her skills? It seemed like all he did was work on her Misdirection. While it's not noticeable because of how well she hides her presence, her potential was great.

She wouldn't be a center or a forward but she could be a great guard. She was quick on her feet and she was exceptionally nimble because of her body structure. Her shots were better than he remembered but her threes need some work. She could go into The Zone, that was a great. She was a bit on the short side, so some of her shots would be blocked but, her Misdirection will allow her to get open and once she learns some plays. He had high hopes.

Hmm, he could work on her jumping skills. It would help with shots and the look on the other team's face if she could dunk the ball would be awesome.

He sighed, 'What do I do with Akashi-kun?'

His thoughts were interrupted, when the bus arrived to Kaijo. He gently nudged Kuroko's shoulder.

"Kuroko-chan, we're here."

"No." She briefly glanced up to him, then fell back to sleep

Naruto stared, impressive. Deciding she wasn't going to budge on this, he murmured to her, "Come on, let's get you off the bus, I'll carry you to the gym."

She whined before she mumbled, "Fine." She mostly leaned on Naruto as they left the bus. Once they got off Naruto knelt down and Kuroko climbed onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and she fell back asleep instantly.

The group started to walk into Kaijo High. Aida finally noticed Kuroko as she went through her checklist of everyone.

"Naruto-kun, why is Kuroko-chan so tired?" A pissed off Aida asked.

"Don't worry about it, I'll tell you later," Naruto replied, serious for once.

That didn't make Aida any happier but she understood his tone and she asked, "Will she be able to play today?"

"Yeah she will, she'll just need to warm up."

Aida sighed in relief. She didn't think they could win without Kuroko's Misdirection.

Naruto look over to Kagami and noticed something. "Kagami-kun, are," he paused, "are you okay?" Naruto's brows creased, Kagami's eyes were bloodshot. He looked crazy.

"Hahaha, yeah, I was so excited, I couldn't sleep."

Kuroko lazily opened her eyes and asked, "What are you, a child on a field trip?" And then fell back asleep, or maybe she just closed her eyes, he couldn't tell.

Kagami's eye twitched, she woke up to say that?

"Hey guys!" Kise yelled in the distance, running up towards them. "I thought I'd come get you since this place is so big."

"Kise," Kagami muttered intent on tell him something.

Only for him to walk right past him, "Where's Kurokocchi?" His eyes roamed over the group and then landed on Naruto, with Kuroko on his back.

"Wah! What did you do to Kurokocchi. She turned me down, only to go with you? Did you take her virginity?" Kise started to bawl. "Akashicchi he'll kill me and then I'll know Kurokocchi didn't love me. That's the worst way to go."

"Well, she does love me more than you."

His face suddenly twisted into a frown, a reply on the tip of his tongue. Akashi's words come back to him, 'Don't piss him off.'

If Akashi-kun said it, he would believe it. He decided he would instead beat his team. He faced Kagami.

"I also don't know why Kurokocchi is interested in you," he menacingly walked by, "but if you're going to challenge me, who am I to say no?" He turned and started to walk away. Kagami stared, annoyed, but they couldn't do anything else but follow.

Once they arrived Kise took off to get into his uniform. Takeuchi, Kaijo's coach, turned his attention towards the team.

"Oh, you're here. As you can see, it's not worth our time to stop practice to watch this beating, so we're are only playing on this side of the court." He walked away and headed towards Kise, who was dressing up for the game. The entire team felt insulted. Aida while external was displeased, was internally pleased. 'Oh, I can't wait to see your face once Kagami kicks their ass.'

"What do you think you're doing? You are not playing today, it's not worth it."

Takeuchi walked away telling instructions to the rest of his players, ignoring the looks of Seirin's members.

Kise was somewhat sad before a evil grin reached his face, he turned his attention to Seirin and approached them, "Sorry, sorry! I won't be playing, unless you do something to change my coachs mind. If you can't do that, you're not worth it."

He headed towards his team, the challenge hanging in the air.

The coach turned to him, "Hey, go show Seirin to the locker room." Kise turned disappoint, he wanted to warm up, only to look an see Seirin heading towards the locker room.

As the walked away, Kuroko, still on Naruto's back, glared at him and said, "It's fine, please warm up, we don't have time to waste."

"Huh?"

Kise saw the glint in Kuroko's eyes and nodded, excited for the game.

* * *

"Let the practice game between Seirin High and Kaijo High, begin!" The referee announced.

"Umm, Seirin High, where is your fifth player, we would like to start."

"Ano, there are five of us."

Most of the gym yelled at the same time, "What!"

"She was right in front of me and I didn't even notice her! Did you notice her Kasamatsu?" One of the players asked.

"I didn't. And besides, what are they doing letting a little girl play, Seirin High is a joke."

Off to the side, their coach said, "This is ridiculous, they boasted so much but they don't have a decent player."

"We'll see," Kise said, with a huge grin on his face. The coach turned to him, confused. "You may be right. They're not just decent and Kasamatsu-sempai pissed off Kurokocchi."

On the other side of the court, Aida quickly check over the stats of the players, slightly worried. Their stats were much better than her own.

As if reading her thoughts, a hand went on top of her head, "Don't worry coach, they got this."

"Naruto-kun..."

"Wha-"

"Don't touch my head."

Naruto, suddenly on the floor, smoking rising from him, he realized that, that might of been a bad idea.

While that was happening, the whistle blow and the ball was tossed into the air. The ball was quickly acquired by Kasamatsu and he took in to Seirin's side, intent on scoring. He dribbled only to find that the ball was out of his hands and on the way down to the other side of the court.

Shocked he saw the girl taking the ball down the court and he took off. He wouldn't let her make a fool of him. Once he got next to her, he intended on stealing it back, only for her to pass it to Kagami. He got the ball and quickly slammed the ball into the next, destroying the hoop.

Kasamatsu stood there shocked, that shouldn't be possible!

He turned to face the girl, only to see that she wasn't there. He tried to find her and when he did, she looked to him and sarcastically said, "Little girl, huh?"

He was surprised he didn't die on the spot from that glare.

Kagami and Kuroko went towards Kaijo's coach, "Sorry, we broke the hoop, can we use the whole court instead?"

It was easy to tell that the coach wasn't happy.

It didn't help that one player from the other team was laughing obnoxiously, how dare the blonde laugh at him!

He turned to Kise, "Get ready, you're going in."

In his rage, he didn't notice Kise's smirk.

The nets were put down and Kise stood on the court, waving to his fans. Then he found himself on the ground face first.

"Kasamatsu-sempai, you already hit me today," Kise whined.

"Who is number ten?"

"Number ten," he saw Kagami's number, "Oh, that's Kagami, don't worry about it, I got it." He quickly switch to another player, "Did you see number eleven? That's my old teammate from Teiko, Kurokocchi, wasn't she amazing." He started to tear up, "But that number thirteen corrupted her."

"Why are you so happy?"

He was suddenly punched in the gut, "Kasamat-"

"What ever, it doesn't matter, all I know is they gave us quite the greeting and we should return it, and who's number thirteen, he's not even in the game."

Kise pointed to the bench and Kasamatsu's eyes landed on Naruto. 'Who is he, he looks vaguely familiar?'

"Kasamatsu-sempai?"

"Don't worry about it, lets just win."

With that the game recommenced and return the favor they did. The girls cheered as Kise scored an amazing slam dunk. He got up only to be throw back down my Kasamatsu. "You baka! I told you to break it!"

"Sorry!" Kise cried. 'Why do I always get hit?'

Kagami stood there and stared, he instinctively knew that Kise was stronger but didn't care. He smiled. Even as Kise taunted him, as he passed and he couldn't help but yell, "Bring it on!"

What came after was some of the most intensive play Aida had ever seen in the first five minutes of a game. Seeing that this was a dangerous pace she called a time out, hoping to slow down the game.

Only to end up choking Kuroko when Naruto told her that her skill, Misdirection, wouldn't last the whole game.

"You couldn't tell me that your skill wouldn't last the whole game, Naruto-kun had to tell me!" She obviously wasn't happy.

"Maa, Aida-chan," he reached he hand out to her head, "don't be so mean to Kuroko-chan."

Then Naruto found himself tasting the court. "Aida-chan..."

"Coach your being scary."

"What was that Hyuga-kun."

"Nothing!"

A whistle blow out.

"Wahh! All I did was hit Naruto-kun, this is your fault!"

This was the third time Naruto tasted the court that day.

All Naruto heard was some muffling between two people, he spoke up, "Maa, coach, I think I hit the ground too hard."

Then his world faded into blackness.

* * *

While Aida helped Naruto to the makeshift bed they made, Kuroko and the rest of team returned to the court.

Aida looked over at the score, 22 to 25, they were not doing so bad and Kise was playing! They were standing up to a 'Miracle' player! But she was nervous. Kuroko's main skill wasn't going to last forever. She glanced over at Naruto, while the referee handed the play to a player to pass it in, I'm curios to see if he'll ever play.

She suspected that Naruto and Kuroko new each other, especially after this morning. They were too close, they looked very comfortable on the bus ride here, you don't do that with somebody you just met! And she still didn't know why Kuroko looked so tired today. It must be Naruto's doing. 'What if?' A blush hit her face. She quickly shook her head.

'I'll come talk to him after this game. He did say he would answer. Maybe I can even find so more information on him.'

She looked back as Kise stomp Kagami's slam dunk.

Dammit! What could she do?

The first quarter ended, 27-33, Kaijo's lead.

Kuroko was the first to speak up, "Let me guard Kise. He'll underestimate me and I can sneak the ball from him, it might be a one time thing, but it's what we need."

Aida nodded her head, "We'll save that once your Misdirection runs in course, which is probably at the end of this quarter. They've already blocked you once, we can't afford another ball to change possession."

Kuroko nodded. Aida turned towards Kagami, "You need to pass the ball."

"What! I pass the ball!" Kagami frowned as he yelled.

"No! Every time you drive trying to get past Kise, face it, you're not good enough to beat him, but, if you pass with Kuroko, you can't sneak by him while he turns his attention away." Kagami felt insulted.

The team looked on, satsified. "Okay, that can work, it looks like you cooled down a bit, Kagami-kun. Play smart and calmly."

"What I play-" He got jabbed in the side. "Gah! What was the for?"

The team echo, in sync, "You were really pissed!"

Kagami's eye twitch, so what if his anger got the best of him sometimes?

Aida glanced at the duo, "Your coordination is key. Can you do it?"

"I guess, we can-" He got jabbed in the side, harder this time. "Gah! What was that for?"

She looked over, "Do you want to beat Kise-kun?"

She got a jab back, "Of course I do!"

'Ouch, that really hurt, does he not know his own strength.' She turned her head towards Naruto, where he was still laying down.

'Good, I'd rather him not kill Kagami-kun.'

"Let the second quarter begin!"

Seirin quickly closed the gap bringing from a ten point to lead to a five point lead, 34-39 Kaijo's lead.

* * *

The first thing Naruto heard was the audience saying, "She doesn't stand a chance!"

'Wah! My head, what hit me?'

He sat up and looked over. 'Well I'm still on the court. Oh, that's right, Aida-chan hit me, like three times.'

He got up, and wobbled slightly, why was the damn floor so hard?

"Hmm, she doesn't stand a chance? What does that even mean? Maa, my head."

He sighed, it feels like I just went through Jiraiya's training. He saw everyone on the bench staring intensely on the court. 'Was he missing something amazing?'

"Maa, Aida-chan, you've got a nasty hit."

He heard her gasp, and she turned around, a frightful look on her face

"Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you so hard. That's never happened, everyone usually just jokes around, but I," she paused, obviously upset, "I actually hurt you!" She looked down, she was suppose to be the coach, yet she hurt one of her players, even if he was annoying, she shouldn't have done that.

She hearts some footsteps and a hand gently touched her head.

She looked up and saw a soft smile on Naruto's face. "It's okay, Aida-chan, I know you didn't mean it. Don't worry about it, we can worry about it after the game, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Naruto-kun."

She turned back to the game and watched as Kagami blocked Kise's three point shot. When the hand on her head started to move, she felt the slightest bit of heat rush to her cheeks.

'Is he rubbing my head?'

A gasp came from the audience.

She turned to face and scold him, but when she looked he wasn't there. She felt a gust of wind blow by her face. She followed it.

She gasped. What happened? Why was Naruto holding Kuroko? Oh, no!

"Kuroko-chan!"

When Kise felt his hand connect on something, at first, he was confused. He turned, followed it and gasped.

He just hit Kurokocchi! Oh, god! He didn't mean to do that. He just react to the fast break, when did she get so close! He tried to move forward, to catch her before she hit the ground, but before he even moved, someone else was there, holding her, gently.

Once he got a better look, a dire feeling fell over him as he remember Akashi's words, _"Naruto is overprotective of Kuroko-chan."_

Naruto's bangs covered his eyes, and when he looked up, Kise couldn't stop shaking. 'Akashi-kun didn't do a good enough job explaining how terrifying he is!' He wanted to ball up in a corner and cry, he didn't want to play basketball anymore today. He wanted to pretend today never existed.

The presence only lasted a second, Kuroko's hand reached up and touched Naruto's face, controlling the beast that was almost unleashed.

"Naruto-kun, no." She faintly said. The pain from the hit making her dizzy. She felt blood flow over her eye and closed it. "Don't do anything to… Kise-kun," her voice became even more faint, to the point to where only Naruto could hear it. "This is my game, play, but you can't be the one who wins this game." Her eyes closed.

'Dammit, she knows me too well.' He returned his gaze a Kise, who seemed ready to flee. 'I guess I can't be to mad at him, I know it was an accident. He looked so scared when he hit her. I'm glad she made someone who cares for her while I was away. But, I went to fast, Aida-chan will defiantly want me to see me play now. Hmm, how will I do this?'

He stood up, Kuroko in his arms. 'I'll let him think I'm pissed, just for a bit.'

"Kuroko-chan!" Aida quickly rushed over.

"Is she okay, can she play?"

"Sorry coach, seems like she won't be able to play. That blow know her unconscious." He set her down and started to put a bandage where Kise's finger marks were. He started to say something but Aida was staring off, an intense look on her face.

'What was she going to do now! She was banking on Kagami-kun and Kuroko-chan bring victory for them.' She looked over at Koganei and smiled. 'That's right, I still have my returners who can play, maybe it's not a lost cause.

Naruto stood back up, finished wrapping Kuroko's head. "Ahh, Aida-chan, are you okay? You zoned out for a bit."

She had the decency to be embarrassed. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, what were you saying?"

"I said, let me play."

"But… You have hardly practiced with us! When we run, you keep up with Kuroko-chan! You've never even ran any of our plays! I don't even know what position you play."

The rest of the team approached. Aida continued to rant on.

"How would that be fair to the rest of the players, who try their hardest all the time."

Naruto sighed, that was fair, but he had no intention to play, until now.

"How about this, the next time we drive, give me the ball. If I can score on Kise-kun, you let stay in, if I don't you can take me out. No matter what happens, I'll show you my stats, without blocking them."

The Seirin team stared on, he thought he could beat Kise?

Kagami laughed, "Yeah right! Kise is really good, he's one of the strongest people I've faced! I don't know how you know Kuroko-chan, but just because your good friends with her, doesn't mean you can compete with her old teammates."

It looked like the rest of the team agreed. While Kagami was talking, Aida was thinking something a bit different. 'He was actively blocking his stats? Is that even possible? Her dad never mentioned anything like that before.'

Aida decided.

"Fine."

"Coach!"

"I'll take him out if he doesn't score on Kise." She turned her gaze back at Koganei, 'Dammit, I really wanted to see how well they would do, I'm sure they're not happy that the first years are playing so much.'

Naruto smirked and followed her gaze. It seems that she wanted to have her usual players play in absence of the Kagami-Kuroko combo.

"I'll take Kagami's spot and have Koganei play like you were planning. That's what you were planning right?" Naruto smirk at Kagami's enraged look. "Did you even research the school at all before you even came here? They have a good combo," Naruto said.

'But, they are still missing a key component.'

"But you'll be right back in anyways, so why does it matter?"

'Maybe I like pissing off Kagami too much, he's a lot like me when I'm playing seriously.'

* * *

Seirin took the court and drove down to Kaijo's side.

Hyuuga took it and saw that Naruto was open. 'This better work or I'll kill him.'

Naruto took the ball and turn to face Kise.

"You know, Kise-kun," Kise looked at him and felt a shiver pass through him. "I wasn't planning on playing for a long time. But," he started to drive to his left. "It seems that you forced my hand, I won't ever allow someone to get away with hurting Kuroko-chan." Kise was in front of him, halting his progress. He was scared of Naruto but still wanted to win.

The entire gym watched on with vast interest, who was this guy and why was he fighting Kise?

Naruto took a step back bringing himself back to the three point line, the shot clock was at twelve seconds and Kise was still hot on his tail. Time slowed down as the next words were passed between them.

"I can tell you care for her, I don't know why, but, she seems to care for you too. I really want to bury you, I can't do that to someone she cares for, instead," He drove to his left once more, "I'll just humiliate you."

Kise knew he was better than Kagami, maybe no one but him saw it, but, Naruto could of easily ran by him there. He was frighten and hesitated, but Naruto went slower and that allowed him to catch up. Kise was surprised just how easily Naruto brought the ball back to where he started, it's hard to stop a drive just like that.

Off to the side, Aida was pissed! "What is he thinking? He could of totally drove pasted him! Gah! He's so infuriating!"

She started to mumble to herself, "But, why did Kise look so scared when Naruto-kun came on the court and he froze when Naruto-kun started to drive by him. There's something I'm missing and it revolves around Naruto-kun. Maybe I can get some information from Kuroko-chan or I can ask him when he shows me his stats."

She watched as Naruto and Kise exchanged words. She couldn't hear them but she was reading Kise's facial expressions. His became suprise, then embarrassed and then his face had that frightful look in it again. How does he bring fear into Kise just like that?

She didn't understand but she did watch Naruto drive once more to the left.

'Is that all he does? He is keeping up with Kise though. That's pretty impre-' Her thoughts stopped as she looked on with disbelief in her eyes.

He drove to the left but disappeared to his right, driving to the hoop and dunking. That move! It was a move she hadn't seen in years! She remember seeing that move on TV. That was the Cross Flash! It was what made Minato Namikaze so famous. How does he know that?

The rest of the gym must be thinking the same thing, it was dead silent.

Naruto looked over to their bench. "That means I can stay on right?"

Nobody responded, and only Naruto started to head back to defend, chuckling to himself.

Nobody knew what to do. Each coach stared at him as he made his way back.

Finally the rest of the Seirin members made their way back. Staring at Naruto in a new light.

"Hey Hyuuga-kun, don't pass me the ball anymore."

Hyuuga turned to him, a questioning look on his face, "What! But, you could easily beat Kise!"

"Sorry, but I promised Kuroko-chan I wouldn't win the game for her. I'll make sure Kise can't score but it's up to you guys to keep the game alive. I know you can do it, you guys were good last year."

"Coach will be pissed." Hyuuga turned to face the Kaijo team, as they finally got over their shock. 'And I will be too, for that matter.'

"I don't care, it's not my game to win."

Hyuuga sighed, 'He isn't budging it seems. I guess it's up to us. At least we don't have to worry about Kise.'

As Kasamatsu took the ball down the court, he looked over at Kise.

He let out a small sigh, that really took away all the momentum away from Kise-kun had but he was still there best player and it would be good to see how well he fared against this new player Seirin had.

Kise grabbed the ball and started to dribble down mid court.

'Dammit, it's like facing Aominecchi, it's so intense! I love it! But, he's scarier and that's a move I can't copy. Dammit!'

He drove head on towards Naruto and planned to come back like Naruto did before. He stepped back and jumped. He started to shoot.

'He might be fast but I've got the height on him, by a large amount.'

He reached his highest point and the ball shot from his fingertips. His eyes widened as a shadow fell over him. How did Naruto jumped so high, he was going to block it. Naruto's fingers easily could of smacked the ball down but at the last second, before the ball hit his hands, he moved to the side and let the ball go through.

'What! He could of blocked that! Why did he let that through?'

The ball went through the net with a swoosh!

Hyuuga looked at Naruto and spoke in a dangerous tone. His shadow fell over Naruto.

"I thought you were going to stop him."

'Wow, he's scary."

Naruto laughed nervously. "Don't worry, he knows that I let that one through, he won't want the ball again or I will stop him. Like I said, I don't want to win the game, so I let that one through. The rest is up to you."

Hyuuga started to dribble the ball down the court. "If you let him score again," his evil side showed, "I'll kill you."

"Ahh, don't worry about it." God, what a scary person, he seemed so friendly beforehand.

* * *

Kuroko finally woke up towards the end up the finally quarter.

She heard Aida say, "I need Kuroko-chan to get back here, we have Naruto-kun playing but he's not doing anything! I don't understand, the game would be ours. We need to put Kuroko-chan and Kagmai-kun back in."

She got up, it was her fault she limited Naruto-kun, besides, she wanted to beat Kise-kun. She couldn't let her student beat her, even if he was better at her then almost everything in basketball.

She spoke up, "Very well, good morning, put me and Kagami-kun back it."

Aida turned towards the unexpected noise. "But you're still injured! I can't do that."

"You just asked for us to go back in, put us in, please. It's my fault, I told Naruto-kun not to win."

'She has a lot of control over him, it seems.' That's a bit unsettling. "Fine, I'll switch you out immediately if I think anything is wrong." She made her way to the scoreboard to sub her players in. They were down by six, hopefully Kuroko and Kagami could turn the tide.

* * *

The final minute approached after Kise turned up the pace, bringing Kaijo back ahead after Seirin tied it up.

"Kagami-kun, there's one thing I can do that nobody will expect. Once we get the ball we'll do the normal strategy," she smirked, "I'll be the one who wins this game."

Kagami looked aghast, 'What? What does that mean. I'll have to listen to her.' He scowled, 'It's not like I have much of a choice.

Kagami blocked Kaijo's final shot and it came to Hyuuga. He launched it down the court to where Kuroko and Kagami were sprining. Kagami started to dribble but had to pass the ball to Kuroko-chan once Kise stopped him.

Kise smirked and stepped in front of Kagami, making him stop in his tracks, he knew what they were planning.

Kagami's eyes widened, he knew their plan, he couldn't get past him for the alleyoop.

Kise outsmarted them, Kurokocchi couldn't shoot, so if he stopped Kagami, they wouldn't be able to score.

Kuroko smiled, 'Sorry, Kise-kun, Kagami-kun, but this time, I'll be the one who shines.'

The ball hit her hands, the clock ticking down to one second. She took her form and shot the ball. Both Kise and Kagami watched thinking the same thing, 'When did she learn how to shoot the ball?'

The buzzer went off as the ball went in, allowing Seirin to pull off a victory, 100-98, Kuroko scoring the final shot.

Naruto looked on as Kise's teammates cheered him back up. 'Good, that's what he needs, I went through the same thing and it's hard to come back realizing that you have a team that would be with you the whole time.' He saw Kasamatsu punch Kise, 'Even if they were a bit strange.'

He looked over at Kuroko, 'But, she started to reveal her abilities. It will only get harder from here on out. I'm happy though, that last shot, she glowed afterwords. This is what I want and even if she doesn't realize it, it's what she wants too.'

* * *

"Kise-kun?" What was he doing her.

"Do you have a minute to talk?"

She started to walk after him, Naruto looked out and followed after staying a safe distance behind.

They started to head towards a park bench.

Kise started, breaking the silence, "It's been a while since we talked like this. How's your injury?"

He sat down on top of the bench, "It's fine."

"I just saw Midorimacchi."

Kuroko's face turned a bit sour, "Honestly, we don't get alone and I don't like him too much."

Kise laughed, "Now that you mention it, you're right, but his left hand is no joke, especially on his good days."

"Yeah." She sighed

"He came to watch our game," he balanced the ball on his head. "Everything's going wrong, I didn't expect you to say yes, but I was serious. I really miss you."

"I'm sorry." Kuroko responded, somewhat sad, she liked Kise but she couldn't be with anymore.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask, why did you leave right after the middle school championship game? Oh and were did you learn to shoot?"

Naruto stepped out.

* * *

There we go. It's really hard to write a game but it was a lot of fun. I do have a quick question to ask, do you want my writing to continue the way it is, mainly focusing on the changes that occur or do you want me to write down how the full game would've went?

It's easier for me to only write the changes that I think will happen and I'll be able to update quicker. If not, updates may take a bit longer and some of the scenes will just be repeats of what already happened. I would only change small bits of the dialog, but that means more work for me and updates would take a bit longer.

For me, I prefer writing only the things that change, but I'd be willing to do the full thing.

long live Uzumaki clan: Thanks! Unfortunately, the reason why Kuroko might be angry at Naruto in the future is something I don't want to tell everyone. It didn't happen to much in this chapter but there will be some hints as to what is going to happen.

As always, thank you everyone for review and if you have any questions and have time leave a review!

'Till next time!


	5. Change I

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

_Flashbacks_

Sorry this one took longer than the others to get out. I got sidetracked and didn't have as much motivation to write this chapter but I finally got time. So here it is. This is a shorter chapter and not too much happens, but I hope you enjoy it!

I don't own Kuroko no Basuke or Naruto

* * *

"Oh? You left after the championship? I didn't know that." Naruto moved up and stood next to Kuroko.

Kuroko turned to face him and frowned, she thought she had sneaked my him. "I not exactly sure, I just know that I hated basketball at that time."

She stopped talking, she didn't like to think about it. It brought back unwanted memories. Naruto looked over at her. He sighed and spoke up.

"Teiko did have some questionable methods, I guess, it's something you'll find out now that you've lost. While winning in sports is important, it's not the only thing that is important. I can't really explain what's wrong but keep playing." Naruto finished, a grimace on his face. It wasn't something you could tell Kise or any of the 'Miracles.' Kuroko was the first to find out, hopefully the rest will too.

"What does that mean? Sports are all about winning." A frustrated look appeared on his face. All that he was met with was silence. Kuroko spoke back up again.

"That's what I thought too but, I saw Kagami-kun and I was amazed by how much he loves basketball. It doesn't matter what he's going through, he takes more basketball seriously than anything else."

Naruto looked over at her interrupted whatever Kise was going to say. "Maa, you are going to make me jealous Kuroko-chan. All this talk about Kagami-kun." Her head snapped over.

"What! Naruto-kun, I, no!" A flush reaching her cheeks as she tried to explain to Naruto what she meant. Her hands moved about wildly trying to convey her point. Naruto abruptly brought his face close to hers, their noses almost touching, a sly smile reached his lips.

"Prove it." He huskily said. His hand reached out and caressed the side of her face, his breath attacking her face, teasing her, his other hand made it's way to her hip. Her once flushed face exploded into a red hue, her breathing pick up. He was so close, her hands unconsciously reached to his chest and felt his muscles. She looked into his eyes, she couldn't speak, she was hypnotized. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she started to inch her head forward.

Kise looked annoyed, he zoned out for one second to find the two of them intimately holding each other. He looks away for one minute!

'Are they really that close? How come she never mentioned him before hand?'

He was about to break them apart before he heard, "Hey, you morons! You disappear to do this? What's Kise doing here?" An annoyed Kagami appeared.

They broke away from each other as if they were electrified, Kuroko's face bright ride and even Naruto's face had a blush on it.

Kise looked confused and said, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to look for these two, did you kidnap them?"

"Did it look like I kidnapped them? Don't accuse me of anything!"

Lightning flashed between the two of them while they argued before Kagami turned to face Naruto and Kuroko. "Bah! Come on Naruto-kun, Kuroko-chan, lets go."

They both looked over to them only to find them gone, again. They looked over at the street ball court and both groaned. "What are they thinking?"

* * *

'This must be Aida-chan getting revenge on me. Like, this doesn't have anything to do with basketball.' Naruto groaned as he watched Kagami get sent back from the crowd. 'This can't be easy, if he is having trouble.'

"This is Japanese lunch time rush!" Kagami said in English.

'Are these sandwiches that good that people are crowding around this bad?'

Naruto couldn't help but laugh as he saw Kagami freak out. It was rather amusing.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, I got two of them." Kuroko said, appearing behind him.

Naruto smiled, "You're the best Kuroko-chan, I was a bit worried when you went in though." He grabbed one of the sandwiches. "You think they'll notice if we start eating them?"

"Aren't these for our senpai?" Kuroko asked, looking up at him.

"I'm sure you can get more. I'll go with you next time, lead me through. We'll buy enough for everyone." He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. His eyes widened in shock.

"Shit! These are delicious! I can see the reason that they draw this big of a crowd. Try one." He took another bite and watched their teammates crowd surf. He laughed when they got thrown back out.

"Oi! How about you try Naruto-kun! I haven't even seen you..." Kagami trailed off. "How did you get that!?" Naruto took another bite finishing the sandwich.

"Maa, this one got it for me." He put his hand atop Kuroko's head. "Isn't she great?" He smiled, she blushed under his praise and took a bite of her sandwich, obviously happy.

"Gah!" Naruto suddenly found himself not touching the ground anymore.

"Maa, Kagami-kun, what are you doing!" Naruto yelled as Kagami throw him into the crowd. He tried to correct himself but couldn't in time. He was really close to the front, Kagami through him pretty far. He barely landed on his feet and rushed forward, intent on proving Kagami wrong.

He was thrown back out, his clothing ruffled and new bruises on his face.

He landed on the ground and his eyes widened. "This is Japanese lunch time rush!" He said in English.

Kagami's eyes twitched and look over at Kuroko, who now had all the sandwiches they needed. "He's making fun of me, isn't he?"

Kuroko nodded in response, a small smile on her face.

* * *

After they had learned about Shinkyo Academy Aida dismissed the rest of the team telling them to be ready for hard practices until the Inter High games.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, you'll stay right?" He turned around, and remembered his promise.

"That's right, sorry Aida-chan, I forgot," he turned to Kuroko and lowered his voice, "No training from me today, I'm going to ask Aida-chan about it. I'll probably end up telling her more, she's bound to be curious about the Cross Flash." She nodded and made her way out of the gym.

"Okay," he walked over to Aida-chan, "do you need me to take of my shirt?"

"That would be good." He started to take off his shirt and she went into her analyzing mode. She let out a gasp, these stats shouldn't be on a high schooler, they were crazy! She didn't understand, he could be such an amazing player, they had a huge chance to win in the Inter High.

"Naruto-kun, why don't you play?"

Naruto stared off into nothing, thinking, before he went over to the bench. "Come over her and sit down. I've got a story to tell."

Aida looked apprehensive, she didn't like how serious Naruto was being. He was usually screwing around. She headed over and took a seat sitting right next to Naruto.

"I guess I'll start at the beginning. I'm sure you know, but for the last three years I've been in America training with my godfather. Before I went to America though," he paused, grimaced and took a breath. "Before I went to America I practiced at Teiko."

Aida stared, shock and started to say something but Naruto held up a hand. "Let me finished. One day the coach at Teiko saw me playing before I was actually old enough to go. He thought that I was really good for a kid my age and took me with him. For the next year I practice basketball with the team. I would of started had I been old enough."

He smiled and continued. "I knew Kuroko-chan before that so when I had more time to play, I would play basketball with her and teach her what I knew. She wasn't as good but loved to play and worked incredibly hard. She was really shy, people made fun of her for playing with the boys but, in the end, she was just happy to play."

As he told the next part, he couldn't help but scowl. "Teiko's coach seems like a nice man, he smiled and laugh. When it came to sports though, he was a demon. He only cared about winning. My personal feelings didn't matter, how I saw my teammates, didn't matter. We just had to win. I don't think it was intentional but the team devolved a fear of losing. They ruthlessly won every game. I also developed that mentality. I'm sure you saw it at the end of the game, when Kise-kun became a different person."

She nodded. "But, I learned something about my parents right before I started at Teiko. You see, I was an orphan, so when someone told me who they were, I had to find out. I quit the team and went to America to find my godfather. He confirmed it for me. He is an amazing coach, no matter his bad habits, and saw my fear. He beat it out of me."

He sighed. "Then I trained with him for three years. He trained my dad and I wanted to learn as much as possible. It was brutal, but I'm sure you can see the results." He changed the subject.

"The day I left Teiko, I talked to Akashi-kun, I'm sure you know of him. I told him to watch over Kuroko-chan. My first impressions of him were positive and I saw how good he could be. Maybe I wasn't clear enough but the result is what Kuroko-chan has become, someone who plays as a shadow in basketball. I don't know what happened to make her this way but I know she could be much more. The coach cared so much about winning that he neglected all her skills besides passing and Misdirection. I can see that it's effective but there are many counters that teams have to stop that."

He stood up. "After seeing how things are, I've been training Kuroko-chan, she has an amazing skill, that not many people have." He looked over at her, gauging her reaction. "That's why she was so tired today. Of course, she's not planning on revealing her abilities until she needs to but, sooner or later, she won't have a choice."

Aida finally said something after listening to his story. "What if I don't allow it?"

All she got was a hollow laugh, "Then you lose two players."

"Are you saying if you don't get to train her both of you will quit?" Aida look angry, was she being blackmailed?

"Aida-chan, I like you and you're a great coach. I won't take her from you during practices, she'll just have more training afterwords. And yes. If you don't let this happen I will quit and then she will quit. We both have a lot of control over each other." He smiled, "I'm sure you will see the results, soon."

Aida sighed, "I guess I'll allow it." She murmured, "Not like I have a choice."

"You mentioned you were an orphan, and learned to play like your father, who was his?"

"Hmm, not many people can do a Cross Flash."

Aida's eyes widened. "You mean that-"

"Yes, my full name is Naruto Uzamaki-Namikaze. My father's Minato Namikaze."

Naruto started to walk about leaving Aida with her thoughts. Before he reached the doors she spoke out, "Wait! Are you going to play?"

He smirked. "Maybe, but since I beat Kise-kun I'll start to take practice more seriously, I didn't think I missed playing basketball this much."

* * *

The beginning of practice was about to begin and Aida was about to start.

"Okay, you all know what our competition is, until our first game, we will be doing a lot of training." She started to explain what they were going to be doing. Before she could finish Kagami stepped forward.

"Coach, I have one request before we start. I want to play Naruto-kun in a one on one, please."

* * *

Again, sorry that this is shorter than most of my chapters and to leave this on another cliffhanger. I want to write this one on one but I need some time to think about how to write it and this chapter is already later than usual.

If you have time, please leave a review, they are always appreciated. Until next time!


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